


Ripples

by apathyinreverie



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, BAMF Stiles, Magical Stiles Stilinski
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-01
Updated: 2018-06-23
Packaged: 2019-05-16 21:13:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,844
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14818980
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/apathyinreverie/pseuds/apathyinreverie
Summary: Stiles has alwaysbeenand would alwaysbeawesome. Nothing – neither the tiniest change nor the universe itself turning on its head - could possibly ever change that. But how would those changes affect the rest of Beacon Hills?How even the tiniest of changes can make all the difference.(A collection of bunnies that are clotting my brain. All what-ifs changing the TW ‘verse before the start of the series. Don't know whether I'll continue any of these.)





	1. Ninjas and werewolves

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scott grows out of his asthma long before moving to Beacon Hills. Being a normal kid, he never needed some weird kid’s help against bullies and his life wasn’t really changed because of it. But the Stilinskis’ certainly was. Where Stiles is the ninja master of google-fu and the Sheriff is utterly exasperated.

There are three defining instances in Stiles’ life before he even makes it through puberty.

The first is his mom’s illness.

Her death shortly after his eighth birthday transforms his cotton-candy happy childhood into misery as he loses his mom - first mentally, then physically - and effectively his father as well, when the Sheriff turns to the bottle in his grief. Most days his dad can barely even look at him, much less actually exchange so much as a sentence with him. The Stilinski household turns absolutely silent.

Stiles learns to _loathe_ loneliness.

The second instance is when Stiles is twelve and his dad gets shot during a gas station shoot out.

In the three days it takes the Sheriff to wake up after his surgery, Stiles refuses to move from his bedside. He is utterly _terrified_ of losing his dad.

He throws the mother of all tantrums when a nurse actually suggests getting child protective services involved, but his dad's deputies come through for their boss beautifully. They make sure that nothing of the sort is so much as mentioned again.

It’s loyalty. And Stiles adores it from that day on.

Having spent several days and nights clinging to his father's hand - desperately praying to any deity he could think of - the fear of losing his dad never really leaves Stiles again.

Even _more_ so because as soon as the Sheriff is up and walking again, he immediately returns to his old ways. His dad seems utterly unable – or unwilling - to let go of the bottle, continuing to go to work at the very least slightly inebriated, unable to get over his wife’s death and completely irreverent to his own safety.

Stiles starts having nightmares. Sometimes they are of his dad lying in that hospital bed and simply not waking up, sometimes the nightmares are gruesome as he is forced to watch the Sheriff bleed out at a random gas station in the middle of nowhere because help never arrives, sometimes they are of his dad simply not coming home and Stiles just _knowing_ that something is wrong, that his dad is in trouble somewhere, that the Sheriff needs help.

But no matter the nightmare, no matter the scenario, Stiles is always unable to move, unable to call for help, unable to do _anything_.

So, first Stiles tries to make his dad realize that other people can actually _tell_ that the Sheriff is drinking on the job. If only because some days his dad kind of _reeks_ of alcohol. Seriously, his dad’s breath could be classified as a room disinfectant on some days.

Stiles starts wrinkling his nose in his dad’s presence before immediately offering him a breath mint.

The deputies catch on quickly and all of them join Stiles in ‘The Great Breath Mint Attack of 2007’.

They also try to help in their own way.

Dina Moore who more often than not mans the front desk at the Station tends to force his dad out of his office – where his not so secret liquor stash is hidden – to drink coffee under her watchful eyes in the break room. Jordan Parrish starts carrying around small water bottles to offer to the Sheriff at any given opportunity to at least counteract some of the alcohol. And Paul Carter - the huge bear of a man that he is - simply tells the Sheriff straight up that he can’t drink around Paul because his newly pregnant wife would surely smell it on him and there would be hell to pay. And everyone in their right mind is afraid of Missy Carter.

It still takes the Sheriff about a week to catch on that the people around him are trying to tell him something. But instead of stopping, he starts carrying a pack of chewing gum around with him wherever he goes. The drinking doesn’t stop.

After that, Stiles makes various attempts at getting his dad away from drinking, each more absurd than the last.

He fails every single time to make his dad realize that he is drinking himself into a stupor at best and early grave at worst. His failures start to haunt him in his nightmares as well.

In his last attempt to curb his dad’s drinking, Stiles starts sneaking into the kitchen at night to pour away some of the alcohol in the liquor cabinet, trying to make his dad believe that he drank more than he really did. Stiles figures it might shock his dad into reconsidering his drinking habits, if he thinks he actually drinks more than half a bottle of hard liquor every night.

It doesn’t.

His dad just buys more and more bottles, apathetic to the amount of alcohol he now buys on a weekly basis and completely indifferent to the pitying looks he garners from the supermarket’s cashiers whenever he buys yet another two or three - or _five_ \- bottles of Whiskey.

With a good chunk of his dad’s paycheck now going towards alcohol and with the rumors around town getting even worse, Stiles stops pouring the liquor away.

This last attempt however shows Stiles that there simply isn’t anything he _can_ do to get the Sheriff to stop on his own accord. He gives up on curing his dad’s alcoholism.

As a result, his nightmares get even worse and more often than not keep him awake for most of the night, after an hour of restless, nightmare-plagued sleep.

Thing is, Stiles _needs_ his dad to be at least generally alright, needs someone to at least _sometimes_ come home to. He needs his dad to be _safe_.

He doesn’t _have_ anyone else.

So, in his complete helplessness of watching his remaining parent wasting away – the only person he really cares about - Stiles gets into the habit of sneaking after the Sheriff on the job whenever he isn’t at school. To make sure his dad is _safe_. It’s not like he is sleeping anyways.

Admittedly, he hadn’t thought that entirely through – because what would Stiles be able to do if his badass Sheriff father couldn’t handle it – but he blames it on his at this point completely sleep deprived mind.

Of course, a thirteen year old sneaking after his crime-fighting father without so much as a clue as to what is actually going on, is just asking for trouble.

And trouble answers.

Just about a year later Stiles is taken hostage during a robbery, while cluelessly wandering into a stand-off between the bank robber and the Sheriff’s deputies.

In the end, Stiles gets away with nothing but a bruised shoulder which actually hurts less than his bruised ego.

But it’s the third defining instance of Stiles’ life, because when they get home from the hospital – Stiles with his arm in a sling and a little loopy due to the painkillers – his dad barely lets him get through the door before rounding on him.

He grounds Stiles indefinitely, calls him irresponsible for sneaking after the Sheriff, tells him how disappointed he is in Stiles, demands that he never again follow him on his job, takes away his TV rights, his gaming station, his laptop, his phone and who cared what else.

The Sheriff is yelling, utterly furious, his nostrils flared, veins in his neck standing out, red in the face. And his breath smelling of alcohol.

Stiles stopped listening some time after his TV rights were revoked.

His dad doesn’t ask once, why Stiles thought it might be a good idea to follow him on the job, seems utterly disinterested in anything that Stiles might have to say.

And maybe that’s fair after the stunt Stiles pulled. It still doesn’t hurt any less that this is the most his father has spoken to him in weeks.

Stiles just takes the scolding silently - keeping his head bent to hide the tears he is desperate not to let fall.

His dad’s rant finally tapers off, finally running out of things to include into Stiles’ punishment.

There is a slightly awkward pause. And then, of the many many things the Sheriff could do in this moment – asking Stiles a question, waiting for Stiles’ response, sending him to his room, _anything_ \- the Sheriff just huffs angrily and turns around to reach for one of the Whiskey glasses on the counter.

And seeing that, Stiles just can’t help himself anymore.

 “You don’t care.” His whisper almost seems to echo in the silence left by his dad’s rant.

But there is no reaction from the Sheriff who is already making his way towards the liquor cabinet in the living room, glass in hand.

And even as loopy as he is from the painkillers, Stiles knows he sounds like every whiny teenager complaining about being misunderstood by their parents.

Still.

“You don’t care.” He repeats, his voice slightly louder, cracking at the end. “You don’t care if you die.”

His dad stops cold.

Stiles doesn’t look up to see his face, doesn’t _want_ to see it, doesn’t want to see whether his dad will ignore him again as he has been tending to do ever since his mom’s death.

“You haven’t cared ever since… ever since…” He can’t bring himself to finish the sentence. Instead he forges on, well aware that if he doesn’t get it out _now_ , he will probably never say it and he _has_ to make his dad _understand_.

“You drink. To forget. E-every morning you drink before work and every night you just keep _drinking_. Just so you won’t remember. A-and… and you don’t. You don’t remember.” A pause. Then barely audible, “Sometimes… you don’t even remember me.”

Blood rushes in his ears, he can't hear anything. Stiles isn’t even entirely sure his dad is still standing in the same room. But the dam has broken and the words just keep coming, tumbling out.

“And you don’t care. And one day you won’t come back and I can’t… I… I _can’t_.”

Still no reaction - the silence stretching between them - and Stiles feels the last of his hope deflate that his dad would listen, that he might be enough to keep his dad here, to make his dad _want_ to stay. For _their family_. For _Stiles_.

His last whisper is barely audible, but in the deafening silence of their house it sounds like a scream.

“You are all I have.”

There is a choked sound from his dad. Stiles still doesn’t raise his head, completely exhausted. He simply doesn’t have the strength to face his dad’s dismissal.

But suddenly there are arms around him.

It takes Stiles a few moments to realize that his dad is actually hugging him - something that he has missed _desperately_ ever since his mother’s illness took a turn for the worse.

He sags against his dad’s chest like his strings have been cut, burying his suddenly tear-streaked face in his dad's shoulder. The arms around him just tighten further.

They don't speak, just standing there in the entrance of their house for what feels like hours, clinging to each other.

But Stiles clearly understands what his dad _isn’t_ saying out loud.

 

* * *

 

Noah will never forget the day his son broke down, having to remind his own father that he is still _here_.

From that day forward, there are three new, unspoken but unshakeable rules in the Stilinski household: One, Noah doesn’t drink. Two, Stiles doesn’t sneak after him on the job. And three, they eat dinner together.

Noah really tries his best to make it home for dinner every day, but more often than not his son comes to the station instead, bringing take-out and - with the years more and more often - home-cooked meals.

Amusingly enough, once his deputies get used to the changes they seem to almost be waiting for Stiles to enthusiastically flail his way into the break room around dinner time. Before faithfully migrating after his son to join them. Especially, Dina, Jordan and Paul have almost become fixtures during dinner time. Sometimes they are even joined by some of their own family members.

And Noah Stilinski feels nothing but utter relief at finally seeing his son smile again, playing pranks on his deputies, pulling faces for little Cathy – Dina’s two year old – or helping Jimmy – Paul’s seven year old – with his homework.

Noah has a lot to make up for. He had been so far gone in his grief that he hadn’t given his son much of a thought ever since his wife drew her last breath. Noah could even admit that on some days he had actively avoided his son – because Stiles had his mother’s eyes and Noah simply didn’t have the _strength_ to so much as look at him. The reminder of what he had lost hurt too much.

But far more damaging was that at some point between Claudia falling ill – with Stiles doing his utter best to draw even the slightest smile out of her – and _that_ day - seeing his son being held at gun point by a bank robber – Stiles had stopped smiling altogether.

And Noah hadn’t noticed. Hadn’t noticed that his son was falling apart.

He had only realized the changes in his son after Stiles had finally broken down in front of him.

They don’t speak of that day again – the day his son actually had to _remind_ him that with Claudia's death Stiles had _also_ lost the bright, beautiful center of his world, that he is just as devastated and just as lonely, but that he is still _there_ and that he _needed_ his father to be there as well.

The utter desperation in his son’s eyes that day continues to haunt Noah for a long time afterwards.

It certainly had been a brutal wake-up call. But he is ever so grateful for it.

That particular memory also made it surprisingly easy to pour away every drop of liquor in the house and to never so much as touch another bottle of alcohol again. It was more than worth the tremulous but bright smile on his son’s face when he saw the multiple empty bottles in the trash.

That night, after putting his son to bed – who had been desperately trying to fight the pull of the painkillers and his own exhaustion, barely keeping his eyes open but unwilling to let go – but fallen asleep before Noah made it all the way out of the room, Noah had watched his son sleep from the door for a while, suddenly desperately thankful that he still had his son, still had that part of his family. No thanks to himself.

Then and there, Noah swore to himself that he would never let his attention slip like that again. He would do _anything_ in his power to never see that sort of helpless desperation in his son’s eyes again.

And ever since then, they - _both_ of them - had been doing better.

 

* * *

 

Stiles knows that it isn’t easy for his dad. Sometimes he still finds the Sheriff sitting on the couch staring into nothing, his eyes vacant, lost in mourning and memories of his wife.

But now, he lets Stiles sit next to him, lets him share in his grief, both of them silently thinking of the happy times passed. And Stiles loves that they have finally found a way to acknowledge his mom’s existence.

But he also desperately _hates_ seeing his dad hurting.

Stiles would do literally _anything_ to lift some of the weight off his dad's shoulders.

Thus, he does his best to make the Sheriff's life a little easier. He attends school, stops sneaking after him on the job. And makes sure the Sheriff is safe from a distance.

Which is what ultimately leads to him joining the hacking community.

The internet – with all its quirks and the quirkiest of characters skulking about - becomes his best friend.

Or rather, his only friend.

When his mother was still around he had tried to make friends. If only because she was entirely convinced that Stiles is about the coolest person to ever grace the face of this earth. He totally agreed with her, still does.

But sadly, no one else does.

Being too weird, too loud, too smart and far too brutally honest – all things his mom used to love about him, so there is no chance of him ever even so much as _attempting_ to change any of it – means that Stiles doesn’t have a single friend his own age in the entirety of Beacon Hills.

And having no one to hang out with or get into trouble with, Stiles spends almost all of his free time either at the Station or at home researching his dad’s cases.

Just so he can sometimes add a little note into his dad's files, pointing at something that might just coincidentally help them close their case a little faster and a little safer.

To make sure that there will never be another case, where his dad has to go in blind and Stiles has to sit at his bedside, desperately begging some higher power he has never believed  in to _please_ please _don’t take my dad as well_.

At this point the Sheriff is certainly a pro at pretending not to notice Stiles slipping additional notes into his files.

Actually, whenever Stiles comes by the station to ‘check in’ on his dad, all the deputies immediately seem to be conveniently distracted - some of them just fixedly staring at the ceiling - while he adds a few papers to a current case. They even have a nickname for their 'secret' tipper, even though his dad still refuses to tell him what that nickname is.

Stiles is getting the feeling it might not actually be all that complimentary to his stealth skills.

So what, if he had once dropped the files that he was adding to while in full view of the entire station? That could have happened to anyone!

Stiles is a fucking ninja, alright?

Right.

And his fourteen year old self feels utterly vindicated at his hacker ways, when he figures out that a hit-and-run driver is actually part of the LA Russian mob in hiding due to some mob-internal conflict.

Who knows what would have happened if his dad had just sent in two of his deputies for a simple arrest.

The mobster had even been under FBI surveillance.

So, Stiles had promptly let the FBI know that the Sheriff was about to arrest the mobster, to get them to intervene. But the FBI hadn't lifted a damn finger to warn his dad about the danger his deputies were about to walk into.

Stiles really hadn't appreciated that.

He took care of getting the tip to his dad himself. And then he let his disapproval be known via a virus that crashed every single piece of personal technology of every agent who had been even remotely involved in that particularly asinine decision.

For weeks.

No matter how many new phones or laptops or fucking i-pods they bought.

Not that Stiles actually knew how to make a virus like that. But having spent several years rooting around the darkweb, before going _past_ that into the realm of places that barely existed _at all_ , he knew enough other hackers who certainly _did_ know and were more than willing to trade him for a favor.

Afterwards _lotorr_ had actually thanked him gleefully for the excellent idea, having had enormous amounts of fun screwing with the agents. Apparently, _lotorr_ had been getting bored recently.

Stiles has long since suspected that his friends _Yils_ and _lotorr_ – _Yils_ being the first to take Stiles under her wing during his early hacker days – actually belong to one of the many alphabet soup agencies.

Because their tips on how to circumvent government firewalls are far too effective.

Of course, it takes him a while to perfect the art of google-fu, but after several years of delving deeper and deeper into the tempting abyss of the internet - making friends with the quirkiest of oddballs to be found online as well as some people who seem almost suspiciously normal, considering the sites he meets them on - there isn’t much he _can’t_ find once he puts his mind to it.

Which is how he starts making a name for himself in certain circles.

Because any hacker can _find_ information - Stiles knows there are quite a few out there who are much better than him at hacking into things - but the skill is in knowing _what_ to look for and _where_ to search for it, then integrating it with any clues you already have, before looking for the next tidbit of relevant information.

And it's a skill, Stiles is particularly good at. His main strength lies in _finding_ \- in following barely existing trails of invisible breadcrumbs, in unearthing knowledge hidden away in little dark corners of the web, in digging up tidbits of information supposedly erased from existence. And in then putting all of it together into a complete picture, into reliable information backed by as much proof as he needs or is planning to pass on.

For a price of course. Which depending on the client is usually either monetary for outsiders or trading for a favor with other hackers.

Because amongst themselves, they have no use for something like money. Favors are their currency. Well, at least amongst their best.

And at this point, a favor from Stiles is actually worth quite a bit, seeing as he is one of the best at what he does.

Admittedly, he is far better at hacking into things than at keeping others from doing the same to him. Honestly, his skills at protecting his tech are laughable when considering what sort of information he enjoys digging around in.

But, being one of the _best_ at finding information that _shouldn't_ exist, thankfully means he has favors he can call in. And thus, his tech is so well protected at this point that no one is able to so much as touch him. Additionally, he even has a standing deal with two other hackers - _MinMin_ and _Saber_ \- for them to take care of protecting his tech and in exchange his skills are always available to them if they need info on anything. Which they admittedly do a lot.

Going by the sort of information _MinMin_ tends to request, Stiles still hasn't quite figured out whether _MinMin_ might be a crime boss or just a simple PI or possibly the director of the FBI. _Saber_ is even worse to figure out, because _Saber_ sounds like a kid in their chats but his questions tend to send Stiles down very serious and very real rabbit holes of historic conspiracies and government cover ups.

All in all, Stiles adores everything about being a hacker.

Normal people have no idea just how vast and unified a network the hacker community truly is. Or how dangerous it can be.

And they never will.

Because loyalty between hackers isn't a question of morality but of necessity. In their circles, betrayal brings prompt retaliation. Offenders are immediately ousted from their midst, utterly ruined by their best and spat out with nothing and no one to rely on.

Nobody likes snitches. Especially, in a group that lives entirely outside of the law.

Stiles thinks there is a certain wild west charm to the whole thing.

And ever since his hacking reached a certain level of proficiency, the boredom he had been continuously plagued with as a child has certainly been a thing of the past.

There are always _more_ things to find, to dig up, to research on the internet.

And Stiles loves searching out other hackers for conversation - sometimes under the cover of banal tumblr threads and sometimes on platforms hidden so far in the recesses of the web only a handful of people are even capable of finding their way there at all.

Because there is always at least _someone_ there who is willing to discuss even his most obscure findings or who he can trade for some new tidbit of politically lurid information or who will argue with him about his newest theories on how the country of Luxembourg will start the zombie apocalypse in the year 2025.

...

Well, anyways.

Point is, at sixteen Stiles cares about very few people - his dad very much at the top of the list and only followed by the deputies that have worked with the Sheriff for years now.

And he only knows the online personas of the few hackers he would actually call his _friends_ , most of whom are at the very least weird ranging all the way to the utterly insane.

Although, spending most of his life researching through even the most hidden nooks and crannies of the internet - digging up secrets, debating obscure finds and theories with people just as obsessed with knowledge as him - by now Stiles has stumbled across most of the weird shit there was to find on the web.

Including mentions of the supernatural – and hadn’t that been an utterly fantastic researching binge once Stiles realized that all those recurring references to supernatural creatures and magic couldn’t possibly be coincidental. He had gotten lost in that subject for weeks!

Thus, Stiles is very much aware of the things going bump in the night.

And when bodies - supposedly mauled by huge-ass animals that would have no business stalking around central California - start turning up in Beacon Hills, it only takes him a little while to figure out what was actually happening.

 _Werewolves_.

He immediately feels giddy at the thought of _werewolves_ in Beacon Hills.

Although, his enthusiasm abruptly cuts off once he realizes that the first line of defense against the supernatural in Beacon Hills is the Sheriff Station.

_Those furry fuckers better keep their shit contained._

But Stiles knows that the supernatural world has its own laws and governance and everyone involved, does their best to keep away from normal people for fear of their entire community being revealed.

So, if there are laws then there should also be law enforcement.

Stiles goes digging and comes up with the number and official references of a 'Tribunal' that is apparently responsible for keeping the supernatural away from ordinary citizens – their cover of ‘Wildlife Experts for Dangerous and Endangered Animals’ really isn't that hard to figure out.

He scribbles a quick note to slip into his dad's files and is just on his way out the door when the hospital calls.

Stiles' blood runs cold.

The doctor at the other end of the line tells him that his dad was attacked by a wild animal – a _wolf_ apparently – and is in surgery right now.

Stiles stands frozen in the entrance, only distantly hearing the doctor trying to get his attention.

Then, suddenly two of his dad’s deputies are there, Dina taking the phone still clutched to his ear and Parrish pressing a glass of water into his hands – _to help with the shock_ , Stiles thinks distantly – forcing him to take a few sips, before leading him to their car outside.

Stiles can't hear anything – his ears seemingly stuffed with cotton - even as they enter the hospital, walking past anyone trying to hinder their progress, all the way to the surgical floor.

Dina immediately sits Stiles in a chair - talking to him soothingly, trying to help him past the utter terror freezing the very blood in veins - while Jordan and Thompson take positions in front of them, shielding them from anyone so much of thinking to approach them.

Stiles doesn't know how long it takes for him to come back to himself, but when he finally responds to one of Dina’s questions her relief is obvious and some of the tension finally releases from the other deputies’ shoulders.

Clarke - having joined the others together with Miller in their silent stare down of the loitering busy bodies - immediately goes to get their entire group something warm to drink, while Miller continues typing on his phone, probably keeping the rest of the Station updated.

It seems like seconds - and at the same time hours - until Clarke presses a paper cup into Stiles' hands.

He curls his hands around the truly terrible coffee - no need to actually taste it, he knows from experience - using the almost painful heat to keep himself anchored.

Then, a doctor appears at the end of the hall and immediately hones in on their group - not difficult considering the number of uniforms gathered in one spot.

He approaches them, “Mr. Stilinski?”

Stiles nods, barely keeping himself from squeezing the paper cup in his hands in his trepidation. Dina takes the cup, setting it to the side.

“I am your father’s doctor. Would you mind stepping aside with me?” The doctor is holding his own admirably, considering the death glares he is getting from several rather impressive individuals standing around Stiles.

It takes Stiles a moment to unstick his tongue from the roof of his mouth, before shaking his head minimally, “We’re all family.”

The doctor nods.

“Your father’s surgery went well. The bullet only grazed his femoral artery but in combination with the bite wounds on his arm and side, the blood loss was quite severe. He…”

Thompson cuts off the doctor with a growl, asking dangerously, “Bullet?”

The atmosphere has shifted dramatically and Stiles feels like all breath has been knocked out of him.

There is a pause, the doctor clearly not prepared for that question, although he quickly gathers himself. “Yes, when Sheriff Stilinski was brought in he had suffered from a gunshot wound to his right leg as well as severe bite wounds on his left arm and side.”

Clearly the gunshot wound is news to everyone.

The surprise finally pulls Stiles out of his lethargic state, his mind picking up speed again, already running through various scenarios.

And always returning to the note still in his own pocket that would have warned his dad and the deputies of additional danger lurking in the woods surrounding Beacon Hills.

Before Stiles can contemplate further, the doctor continues. “Additionally, he suffered from a dislocated shoulder and two broken ribs, one of which punctured his lung. However, we were able to stabilize him and the surgery went very well considering the severity of his injuries. At this point he mainly requires rest to recover and heal properly, but we will have to watch out for infections due to the nature of the wounds.”

Stiles feels like he can breathe again. His dad had made it past the worst of it.

He continues to watch the doctor, who is clearly hesitating to continue.

“Unfortunately, we cannot allow you to visit your father at this point in time as we cannot be certain whether the animal that attacked him might have been infected with rabies or something similar. We will have to keep him in quarantine until we make sure. Same with Deputy Carter.”

Stiles’ eyes widen at the mention of the bear of a man that is one of his dad's most trusted deputies.

“ _Paul_? What happened to Paul?” His thoughts immediately turning to little Jimmy who is currently at the height of his 'my-daddy-is-my-hero' phase.

Jordan speaks up, cutting off the doctor. “Paul was patrolling with the Sheriff. According to the paramedics there weren’t any wounds on him except for a few scrapes and a head wound. They said he probably fell badly during the initial attack.”

Stiles feels immediate relief at that, although his anger only continues to increase.

He turns back to the doctor, who actually looks somewhat annoyed at having been cut off by Jordan but immediately loses his irritated expression when faced with the focus of their entire group.

The man coughs. “Well, yes. As far as we could tell, there are no bite wounds on Deputy Carter, but we would rather make sure in case the animal was infected.”

Stiles barely keeps from gritting his teeth.

Oh, that ‘ _animal_ ’ had certainly been ‘ _infected_ ’.

Just not with _rabies_.

Fucking _werewolves_.

+++

Sitting in the hall across from his dad’s room - after the nurse had assured him that they would uncover the window once his dad is awake, so he can at least see his son waiting for him - Stiles is glad to have found some of his calm again.

His dad is past the worst of it. He will make it.

But if Stiles is correct and not everything he has dug up on the supernatural is actually a hoax, there is a very real chance that the Sheriff might actually be turning into a _werewolf_ some time soon.

 _And just how ridiculous_ is _that?_

Stiles’ research on the supernatural hadn’t gone deep enough to figure out at which point in time after a bite a person will actually turn, whether there is a specified time line or maybe a moon phase or something ludicrous like that involved. He doesn't even know whether every person who is bitten turns or what happens if someone _doesn't_ turn.

He is gritting his teeth at his own helplessness, aching for his setup at home or at the least for his laptop, just to check his information. But there is simply no way he is leaving his dad to deal with this on his own.

Because Stiles at least has _some_ sort of idea what might happen and why. He is also utterly certain that the Sheriff has never so much as considered the possibility of there being anything even remotely _related_ to the supernatural in the real world.

And the Sheriff shouldn’t have _had_ to, shouldn't ever even have come into _contact_ with the supernatural.

Stiles is angry. So very fucking _angry_.

Jordan, who is sitting in the chair next to him - clearly just as unwilling to move from his boss’ side as Stiles - glances at him before returning his focus to the still covered window on the opposite side of the hall.

The mention of the gunshot wound had instantly put everyone on edge. Because being attacked by a wild animal could just be bad luck, but in combination with a bullet wound the entire situation immediately turned into something else entirely.

After the doctor’s update, the other deputies had quickly left and less than thirty minutes later, Miller sent a text that there had been no bullets fired from either Paul’s or the Sheriff’s weapon.

So, that precludes the possibility of the Sheriff being wounded unintentionally by either of their weapons going off in the struggle.

Jordan showed Stiles the message and has not moved an inch from his side ever since.

Stiles knows that by unspoken agreement, in a few hours another deputy will show up to release Jordan from his post as the Sheriff’s protection. Which very much extends to Stiles as well.

The Sheriff's deputies are nothing if not loyal.

And two of their own have been attacked.

Which still leaves Stiles sitting here, gritting his teeth in fury.

When he had figured out that the supernatural had come to Beacon Hills for a visit, Stiles had even felt somewhat enthusiastic about the idea, but he had had no intention of actually getting involved. Well, beyond keeping the Sheriff department away from it.

He would have been fine with calling in the proper authorities to take the problem off their hands. As he has been doing for several years now.

He _lives and breathes_ information brokering.

But now, not only has his dad been attacked by one of those fanged and clawed whatevers but he has also been _shot_.

Everything Stiles has read on werewolves told him that they simply do not _use_ guns. _Ever_. They simply have no use for them.

But the Tribunal's executive arm certainly does.

And according to his information, there are more than a few corrupt branches of that executive arm.

Which means there are _hunters_ in Beacon Hills.

 _Hunters_ , who hadn't announced themselves to the local law enforcement as is custom, who had proceeded to start a _hunt_ in his dad's territory without informing _anybody_.

And now his dad has somehow gotten caught in the middle, has been attacked by the creepy crawlies they were hunting and gotten shot by one of those hunters who were strutting around Beacon Hills.

Stiles' fury slowly gives way to a cold, simmering wrath, as he finally puts together some sort of picture on how his dad had ended up in the hospital.

He couldn't give less of a fuck about who was ultimately at fault either. Because _both_ parties had left his dad to bleed out on the forest floor.

They had left his dad behind to die.

And Stiles' mind starts whirling, turning towards how to make them - _all_ of them - pay. Because Stiles doesn't need actual weapons or supernatural powers to tear every single one of them to the ground.

No, he has a completely different sort of arsenal at his disposal.

His eyes open to slits, almost seeming to glow slightly in the dim light of the hallway as they meet Jordan's in the reflection of the still covered window hiding his dad from view.

The deputy calmly holds his stare.

Stiles is sure that with an entire County's law enforcement on his side, he can do whatever the fuck he pleases and will never run out of alibis.

So, let's see how well the supernatural will cope when dragged onto Stiles' side of the playing field.

How they handle feeling like they are the ones being _hunted_ , how well they do when all technology turns against them, how they manage when their misfortune follows them wherever they go and befalls whoever they get in contact with.

Because, _these_ days, _everything_ relies on technology.

And that is _Stiles'_ world, _his_ playground.

Those fuckers really shouldn't have messed with his dad.

Because _boy_ , is Stiles going to get _involved_ now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hm, okay. I just had this what-if bunny plaguing me, but it was supposed to be a humorous one... So, that clearly didn't quite work out as planned XD


	2. Bullies for friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jackson is bullied on their first day of elementary school. Stiles jumps in and they triumph over their adversary with only a couple of bruises and a lot of reprimanding from their parents. Their glorious victory cements a life-long friendship. Where Stiles has got to be the single-most weirdest popular kid across the Americas.

Lydia once states imperiously that their group is the perfect collection of the brawn, the bitch, the brain and the beauty.

To this day, Stiles isn't entirely sure who was which in that scenario.

With Lydia being undeniably beautiful, freakishly smart and but ice-cold to anyone who isn't in their little group, Jackson being the very definition of a jock, more beautiful than his gender should allow and more bitchy than any girl with PMS Stiles had ever met, Danny being charm personified, easily able to benchpress Lydia but an insanely good hacker who has no problems digging up anybody’s dirty secrets if he feels particularly displeased with that person.

And then there is Stiles who is neither good-looking nor a jock in any meaning of the word but at least he is damn smart, lives off vindictiveness and can out-bitch anyone who dares to cross him or who happened to cross his path on a bad day.

They are _all_ more than just one of those four descriptors.

Maybe that's what Lydia meant.

The four of them have been friends for years now and at sixteen Stiles honestly can't even imagine his life without their group of four to fall back on.

And he still claims the main credit for their rather weird collection of friends.

 

* * *

 

Stiles has always been the weirdo. He didn't even have a single friend in kindergarten or even someone who wanted to sit with him during lunch.

But his mum had always thought Stiles was awesome, so he didn't really care all that much about the other kids. Especially, because when he started elementary school, Stiles was at the height of his my-daddy-is-my-hero phase. And his daddy was also a deputy so he was way cooler than anyone else's dad. He was!

And accordingly, Stiles thought himself the defender of justice - ‘ _just like my daddy!_ ’ - on the playground.

So, when on their first day of elementary school the resident playground bully chose Jackson as his newest victim to pick on, Stiles had been utterly convinced it was his job to defend his classmate.

The bully could go mess with someone else.

Still, jumping on the bully’s back to defend Jackson definitely hadn’t been the smartest move, considering that the other kid had about the same mass as Jackson and Stiles put together. In the end, the three of them had to be separated by the teachers but Jackson and Stiles swore to this day that they had won – despite Jackson’s swollen eye and Stiles’ bleeding chin.

Their triumph had forged an inseparable friendship between them, much to the ire of their fathers who still nurtured something of a love-hate relationship from their own high school years.

Which came to an abrupt end when Stiles and Jackson ran crying to their mothers after witnessing a screaming match between their fathers.

Long story short, the then-still-deputy and the then-ambitious-lawyer were taken aside by their wives and got to enjoy a long, rather one-sided conversation. There hadn’t been a problem since.

And Jackson and Stiles became even more inseparable.

Still, their interests had always differed wildly, with Jackson preferring sports and Stiles preferring video games. But despite both of them being an only child, they had quickly learned to compromise, because the one thing they did agree on was that neither would be any fun without the other.

The need for compromise only increased when Danny joined their little group in second grade. The rather shy Hawaiian boy had been partnered with Jackson for their first group project and he had simply _fit_ with them, smiling at Jackson’s better-than-you attitude and easily handling the all-encompassing weirdness that was Stiles.

And then Lydia joined them. The three boys didn’t really have a say in the matter.

One day during second year of primary school, she just simply sat down at their table during lunch and started authoritatively asking questions about them. She had been running their lives ever since.

And the rest was history.

 

* * *

 

In the same year Lydia joins them, Stiles’ parents stop trying to hide his mother’s illness from him.

Stiles had known that something was off and his parents try to prepare him for the road that is ahead for their family, but Stiles is far too young to understand what they are actually trying to say.

The illness takes his mother from him - the bright, always happy center of his life – long before her death but despite his despair at the changes forced on her, not once did it so much as cross his mind that the world could possibly exist _without_ his mother in it.

Stiles is blind-sided by her death.

And it damn near kills his father.

The newly crowned Sheriff seems to simply shatter before his son’s eyes when his wife takes her last breath. He doesn't speak a single word to Stiles all the way home from the hospital after having to say their final goodbyes to the woman who was center of both their worlds.

Instead his father enters their house, stops and just stands listlessly in the entrance for what feels like an eternity. Stiles is hovering behind him, waiting for his dad to say something. But when the Sheriff finally moves, he just makes a bee-line to the liquor cabinet in the living room, grabbing two full bottles and then making his way upstairs to disappear into his bedroom.

All without giving Stiles so much as a glance.

Stiles is breaking and he barely makes it upstairs.

Only to find Jackson, Lydia and Danny already camping out in his bedroom.

In the following weeks, his friends make sure to never leave him alone for even a single second. There is always at least one of them with him at all times. And when his dad goes to work or gets lost in his grief, Stiles is always invited over to one of their houses which generally devolves into a sleep over of all four of them.

Stiles holds on to them and their support fiercely. They return his devotion with the same ferocity.

 

* * *

 

It takes the three boys of their group a while to realize that even after Stiles has finally found the ground under his feet again, Lydia continues organizing their sleepovers.

After that, it doesn't take them long to figure out that Lydia is doing everything she can to avoid going home. She never really tells them what makes her want to keep her distance, but they easily oblige anyways.

Sleepovers become so regular, that the four of them almost forget what it is like to sleep alone.

And one truly dark, moonless night, where Lydia has squeezed onto Stiles bed with him, while Danny and Jackson are asleep on the floor, she whispers to him that she really misses her grandmother.

Stiles just scoots in a little closer to her huddled form, sharing warmth.

He never presses for more. But the offer is clear and Lydia gratefully squeezes his hand in the dark.

 

* * *

 

Then, Jackson finds out about being adopted and he starts doubting everything about himself, his family and even his friends.

It only takes one Stiles-organized intervention to knock him out of it again.

Then they spent the next several weeks finding any and every sort of skill mentioned _anywhere_ and testing Jackson’s aptitude at every single one of them. Sports, arts, gaming, writing, reading, eating, snorkeling, bench-jumping, hair-braiding, snoring, driving, throwing rocks across the lake, throwing rocks at windows, throwing rocks _through_ windows, sleeping, arguing, burping and so so many more. The list is endless.

And Stiles makes a chart of Jackson's talents.

At the very top of the chart, Jackson gets 11 out of 10 points in friendship awesomeness.

Somehow, the things Jackson doesn't excel at don't actually make it on the chart.

And Jackson starts smiling again.

 

* * *

 

Then, Danny starts to withdraw.

They stage another intervention and it takes Lydia all of 10 minutes to weasel Danny's doubts about his own sexuality out of him.

Her well-placed, rather lengthy rant makes sure that Danny would never again doubt whether they will stay at his side no matter how ‘weird’ he is by societal standards.

Jackson grumbles about beating anyone to a pulp who even dares _think_ anything derogatory and Stiles offers to join Danny’s future body-glittered self out of solidarity.

Lydia smacks him. Then Danny and Jackson for good measure.

Stiles loves his friends.

 

* * *

 

The longer they are friends, the closer they seem to grow together.

They quite literally spend all their time together, discuss pretty much all details of their lives with each other and rarely sleep without at least one of the others in the same room.

They are the very definition of inseparable and aggressively drive anyone away who appears like they might try inserting themselves into their little group.

So, it is only natural that they would be each other’s firsts in pretty much everything.

Though, Stiles still maintained that despite his first kiss being pretty much shared by Danny and Jackson, he wasn't the one who started it.

Danny, Jackson and Stiles have gotten into Mr. Wittemore’s liquor stash and were far past tipsy at this point but still coherent enough to attempt serious conversation.

Stiles is lying on Jackson’s stupidly soft rug in front of his game station, Danny to Stiles’ left – though in the opposite direction with his head settled next to Stiles feet – and Jackson lying right next to him, his arm serving as Stiles’ pillow at the moment.

They are still waiting for Lydia to return from her family dinner - ' _you boys had better leave me something to drink for when I get there!_ ' - and Danny has been going on for a while now about his struggles to find decent gay porn.

But now there is finally a lull in his diatribe.

Suddenly, Jackson asks in that pompous way of his, “How do you even know you’re gay, if you never even kissed a guy?”

Danny stares at him incredulously, before sitting up angrily, facing both Jackson’s smug smirk and Stiles’ rather interested stare, “How do you know you’re _not_ gay, if you never even kissed a guy?!”

Jackson sputters - clearly not having expected his own question being turned around on him - sitting up as well, “What does that have to do with _you_ being gay? I was just asking how you could possibly just know without ever even trying.” Then more angrily, “Don’t blame me if you haven’t had the guts to at least try to kiss a guy!”

Danny looks like he might just try to throttle Jackson but instead decides to direct his aggression elsewhere. He angrily turns towards Stiles - who is still watching the lovely spinning ceiling - reaches out to pull him up by shirt and simply kisses him.

No question, no warning, no nothing.

 _And hellooo, sexuality crisis_ , Stiles thinks dazedly.

Finally, Danny lets go of him again. “There. I’m definitely gay.” He huffs.

A pause.

Then with a sly smirk, “So, _how do you know you’re not gay, if you never even kissed a guy_?”

There is a definite challenge in Danny’s voice and in typical jock fashion, Jackson is entirely unable to ignore the challenge. He pauses, shrugs, before reaching over Stiles and pulling Danny into a kiss.

 _And yep, definitely not entirely straight_ , Stiles thinks as he watches his two _hot_ best friends make out.

Jackson takes far longer to pull away from the kiss than Stiles would have expected from his rather prudish best friend.

Finally, Jackson pulls away, though he remains leaning slightly over Stiles. “Hm.”

Danny is watching him with slightly half-lidded and at Jackson’s utterly uninformative reaction prompts, “Well?”

Jackson continues to look as though he was considering the secrets of the universe, “Hm.”

Then he promptly leans down and kisses Stiles as well.

And while Stiles can usually talk circles around his friends – and probably anyone in this town – he has also been utterly convinced that he wouldn’t receive his first kiss before college. The crux of having three absurdly gorgeous best friends is that no one so much as gives him a glance. Which Stiles generally couldn't care less about as he isn't interested in any of the rather banal creatures that infest the halls of BHHS.

Thus, his assumption he wouldn't meet anyone who realizes just how awesome he is until college.

So, he is utterly stunned at having just been kissed by his two best friends. Not to even mention the included sexuality crisis. They were only missing Lydia at this point.

“Well, this certainly wasn’t what I had been expecting when I finally got here.” Lydia’s voice finally puts an end to Jackson and Danny's how-to-tell-you’re-gay discussion and also shakes Stiles out of his slightly dazed state. “You can be thankful that I rushed back here, because I would have never forgiven you if I missed this.”

With those words, Lydia saunters over to where they were still settled on the floor, kneels down elegantly next to Danny’s feet and then proceeds to join the screw-with-Stiles’-self-perception parade and kisses him with just as much enthusiasm as his other two best friends had.

At the end of that particular evening and after a rather lengthy discussion about kissing techniques, they agree that Danny is definitely gay, Jackson claims to be straight, Stiles is bi and Lydia bemoans the fact that she is straight by association, but rather sure she is actually bi as well.

“If I ever get the chance to actually kiss a girl!”

There is a pause, before Stiles bluntly states, “I would pay to see that.”

Jackson immediately nods enthusiastically and even Danny looks somewhat interested.

Lydia rolls her eyes before giving all three of them a look that makes sure that this particular idea will never be mentioned again.

And somehow – despite them being four teenagers that made out with each other ‘for science reasons’ – there is no awkwardness afterwards. It is just another step in their friendship and it just seems entirely natural.

 

* * *

 

They start highschool.

With Lydia and Jackson objectively being the most gorgeous people in the entirety of Beacon Hills, they immediately take over the top of the social totem pole. No one is surprised at Danny being their friend, seeing that he is also gorgeous and could charm anyone. Stiles, however, raises eyebrows everywhere.

But people quickly learn just how bad of an idea it is to talk shit about any of them.

Gorgeous Jackson who hates everyone on principle, has no problems with driving his point home with his fists and never gets into trouble because that's what happens if your lawyer father explains plausible deniability to a pre-teen.

Beautiful Lydia who is so pretty that by nature's own laws she has _got_ to be entirely vapid but who also somehow holds a straight 4.0 in all her classes. Lydia who is queen of BHHS and if she doesn't like you, your popularity will die a very quick and very brutal death, never to be recovered.

Charismatic Danny who can charm anyone including their teachers and is nice to everyone. Well, unless you piss him off. Then your dirty secrets have a tendency to become common knowledge over night.

And Stiles has got to be the single most weirdest popular kid across the Americas.

Stiles, who is a walking fashion disaster, endlessly annoying and far too brutally honest to make friends with anyone. Who looks like the very _definition_ of a bullying victim. But BHHS quickly learns that getting on Stiles' bad side is to be avoided at all cost, because he is utterly, insidiously vindictive if you ever _do_ attempt to cross him or his friends.

The four of them rule high school.

But then everything starts changing when bodies start turning up in Beacon Hills, Scott McCall of all people tries to challenge Jackson's position on the team and Lydia starts loosing time.

It doesn't take them long to realize that there is something going on in Beacon Hills. And that something is _messing_ with them.

All four of them take exception to that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Huh. No idea what happened with this plot bunny XD


	3. Truth in magic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Stilinskis have always had ties to the supernatural. Which is apparently too much for Claudia Stilinski, who walks out on them when her son first shows his aptitude for magic. Where the Sheriff is left by his wife instead of widowed, angry instead of grieving and involved with his son’s life instead of drinking himself to an early death.  
> And Peter just really wishes someone had thought to tell him about the resident magic users.

The Stilinskis have had ties to the supernatural for longer than their history can be traced back into the darkness of pre-Roman Europe.

Of course, they weren't always called Stilinski - and even now, most branches carry a different name - but they _do_ have a complete family tree that goes back actual millenia in history.

Because the Stilinskis - no matter under which name - are Record Keepers. Of the magical variety.

Their family has been keeping records of history since long before even the Romans started making noise about ruling Europe.

And it's not only that their family has been watching, recording and keeping history. No, their record keeping is magical as in there are no falsehoods, no personal opinions, no skewed views in their records. When a Stilinski puts pen to paper, they write the _Truth_. Not the truth as they know it, but the truth as it _happened_.

They record history as it _was_ , they can't do otherwise.

Accordingly, their bloodline has been living closely intertwined with earth’s natural magic for all of humanity’s history and thus, they have long since developed a certain aptitude for wielding magic itself, helping them store and preserve the records they keep.

However, this aptitude for actually wielding magic skips generations quite frequently on all sides of their family tree - which is absurdly large and covers almost every corner of the world - but every Stilinski is still taught everything there is to know about wielding magic. Because even if you yourself _can't_ wield magic, chances are your children _will_.

Noah himself doesn't have magic and neither did his dad. But he still remembers watching his grandfather practicing the ancient arts with awe. Natural magic – the sort that comes from _within_ oneself and from the earth herself – can be breathtakingly beautiful and devastatingly terrifying.

But point is, magic had already skipped two generations on their branch of the family tree. So, they were due another magic wielder quite soon.

Thus, when his barely six year old son does magic for the first time, Noah is not at all surprised. He just lifts his son - who is still staring in wonder at his favorite potted plant which he made take over their entire living room - and joyfully spins him in a circle.

It is however too much for Noah's wife.

Who walks out on them that very same night, without looking back once.

And even years later, it still makes Noah so furiously _angry_. Because he had loved Claudia with everything in him, with everything he was, and she simply threw their family away without a second thought. But the part that makes him unspeakably _furious_ is her refusal to deal with a magical child while in hearing range of their son.

Who to this day feels responsible for making his mother walk out of their life.

An opinion which Noah _still_ hasn't been able to discourage him from.

Claudia walking out of their lives is not on Stiles. That's on _her_.

So, when Claudia doesn't return within the six months grace period Noah had decided to give her - because admittedly having your own child suddenly develop supernatural powers is bound to be rather shocking - he takes a look around himself. At his downtrodden son - who still won't laugh loudly at the TV or even ask for an extra helping of desert - and at his stressful job which has only gotten more stressful with her disappearance.

And he thinks, _to hell with her._

They’ll be perfectly fine taking care of each other.

And they are. At least after some initial hickups.

Because his son has always been a rather excitable child, always bouncing around, chattering endlessly, finding new things to grab his attention, before getting distracted by something else entirely.

But in the aftermath of her disappearance Stiles is quiet, far _too_ quiet.

Noah worries endlessly and it still takes him quite a bit of time to realize that his son's behavior is due to the six year old being _desperately_ worried about driving his dad away as well. Just like he had his mother.

And nothing Noah says gets through to his son to convince him otherwise.

He has to watch helplessly as Stiles withdraws further and further inside himself, not stepping a single toe out of line, being far more well-behaved than any child ever _should_ be.

It all comes to a head when Noah finally realizes that the reason for their house being so clean despite him barely having the time to do the dishes - he is so far in over his head, trying to do his job _and_ raising his son - is that Stiles has been trying to take care of the household in his mother's stead.

One morning, a loud crash from downstairs has Noah practically catapulting out of bed and down the stairs. Only to find his six year old son standing in a pool of shards - desperate tears in his eyes - clearly having been trying to dust their china cabinet, only to fall off and take half the cupboard with him. But despite his instinctual anger at the thought of Stiles getting hurt due to his furniture acrobatics – because climbing the furniture is definitely not allowed in their house - his son's wide, tear-filled eyes immediately take all the wind from his sails.

Noah had never liked the flowery china Claudia's mother had given them for their wedding anyways.

And the long and tearful conversation afterwards finally restores his son to the beautiful, bright, energetic child he had been before Noah's wife walked out the front door in the dead of night.

So, who needs _her_? Stiles and Noah _certainly_ don't.

 

* * *

 

Of course, everyone in town knows that the Sheriff’s wife had one day simply left, left her hardworking husband and her six year old son behind and never returned.

And the gossips wag their tongues about how much of a disappointment ‘that Gajos girl’ had turned out to be, to just walk out on her beautiful little family, leaving her husband to clean up the mess.

Who does an incredible job, because not only does Deputy Stilinski continue to keep their little town safe, but he also takes amazing care of his son.

Of course young Stiles is down for a while - completely understandable for such a _nice_ child, they say - but it only takes a few months for him to bounce back with enthusiasm, still being so very well behaved for his dad. Little Stiles immediately becomes the sweetheart of all of Beacon Hills' grannies.

Who do their best to support those 'nice Stilinskis'. And casseroles, cakes, bread and even fruit baskets start to make frequent and rather uncontrollable appearances on their porch.

Stiles thinks it's awesome that they have a food-growing porch and Noah just rolls his eyes every evening when he sees the sheer amount of food left for them yet again. Because there is simply no way that the two of them can eat all of that.

Noah just wishes the well-meaning busybodies of Beacon Hills would come up with a schedule of who brings them food in a particular week, so he wouldn't have to deal with the absurd amount of leftovers. On the other hand, the grannies' cooking ensures that Stiles eats healthy - at this point his son even has _favorite_ casseroles - and packing lunch is easily done and always includes something healthy without Noah having to worry about finishing work before the supermarket closes.

Thus, every weekend Noah just bundles up his son, grabs at least ten of the leftover casseroles they had put in the freezer during the week and drives several cities over to deliver the food to the shelters there. Trying to avoid tipping off the grannies just where their food is going.

Stiles _adores_ their weekend road trips - even if it is just a couple of miles - because he gets to spend at least a few hours with no one but his dad.

Most of which he spends asking questions.

Almost exclusively about magic.

And Noah slowly teaches his son everything he knows. Just as his father did for him and his grandfather did before that.

Their road trips quickly become the highlight of their week and the older Stiles gets, the more they extend their trips away from Beacon Hills. Sometimes they camp somewhere over night, because there is no better place to let his son test his magic than somewhere in the mountainous wilds of California.

And Stiles _always_ wants to learn. He soaks up new knowledge like a sponge and nothing motivates him like the promise of learning something new. He enthusiastically throws himself into his studies - both school and magic - easily staying top of his class in every single subject and devouring every single magical text Noah procures – mostly by asking their relatives in Europe to _please_ send some more material.

And while Stiles doesn't have many friends at school - being so intertwined with the _Truth_ makes Stilinskis rather unlikable for the majority of humanity, because the head-in-the-sand sort of people rarely like having the truth pointed out to them - but he at least has some fellow students he sometimes hangs out with.

His closest friend is probably Scott McCall, although the Sheriff suspects that Scott has mainly latched onto Stiles because he sees him as just another unpopular kid. But Stiles never excludes anyone who wants to spend time with him and has thus become a magnet for any and all outsiders at school. And Stiles himself simply doesn't _care_ about popularity, but Scott definitely _does_.

Thankfully, Stiles is so enamored with the supernatural community and the people he meets there that his son doesn't actually rely on that particular friendship. Because the Sheriff is pretty sure that Scott will not stick with Stiles if he ever actually gets a chance at popularity. That kid is far too self-absorbed to understand loyalty.

But Stiles is happily living his life - undeterred by the teenage drama around him - learning and practicing magic, despite initially shying away from it after seeing his mother’s reaction. Which is something Noah will never be able to forgive her for. Because suppressing his magic would have been a death sentence for his son.

But now, years after Claudia walked out on them, Stiles is doing well and Noah himself is so universally liked by the population of Beacon Hills that when he throws his hat in the ring for the position of Sheriff, it's a landslide win.

They celebrate by actually going _out_ to eat for once instead of having yet another casserole for dinner.

Because despite his wife having left almost ten years ago now, they still regularly find food on their porch. Apparently, making casseroles for the Stilinskis has become some sort of rite of passage if you want to be part of Beacon Hills’ social – read: gossiping - circles.

It's ridiculous but neither Noah nor Stiles have the heart to actually tell the grannies to stop - and at this point the homeless shelters of the area have probably started relying on their weekly delivery anyways. And years ago, Stiles actually taught himself to cook - desperate to have anything _but_ casserole for dinner from time to time - so his son usually cooks four or five nights a week and the grannies are none the wiser that they give away most of the food left on their porch.

Then, shortly after his election as Sheriff, Stiles' summer holidays start. So, Noah decides to take him on a trip to visit their family in Poland.

And it's definitely one of his better ideas. Stiles immediately hits it off with their numerous relatives and Noah has never seen his son quite this carefree.

Noah's older cousin - once removed, but who cares with their family history - has a similar aptitude for magic as Stiles. And Jakub immediately starts teaching Stiles the sort of intricate magics that Noah had asked his son avoid until he had a proper instructor to help in case things went sideways.

Stiles had actually listened after an initial attempt at starting a camp fire directly _against_ Noah's wishes and almost burning down the forest they had been camping in. With both of them in it.

Once Stiles meets Jakub, there is no holding back for his son anymore. Stiles takes to the advanced magics like a fish to water.

Noah just leans back and watches as his son baffles their extended family with his ability to absorb any new knowledge presented to him within moments, only to promptly return with countless questions and new ideas on how to do it _better_.

Noah can hear their older family members whispering and he is certain that within a few years, they will want to take Stiles to the Record Vaults. Because Stilinskis with magic naturally strengthen the wards preserving the records that have been kept by their family for so many centuries now.

Noah himself has never had that honor - he only knows of it from his grandfather's stories - because the Vaults are for elders and for Sparks only.

So, Noah will still have to wait quite a few more years until he will even have a chance to see it. But he is sure, Stiles will love it.

Sadly, he cannot extend his vacation beyond six weeks, which had only been possible in the first place because he had amassed an absurd amount of holidays over the years. Noah had decided to take most of his remaining days off now, because once he actually starts as the County's Sheriff, the next real vacation will probably have to wait several years.

But Stiles doesn't complain when their date of departure approaches. It is one thing that hasn't changed about his son after Claudia's abandonment, no matter how many years pass. Stiles doesn't complain. Ever.

He may whine and try to needle Noah into something, but he never actually complains about not getting his way.

Claudia had really done a number on them. Screw her.

Which is apparently a rather popular opinion among their family and one night Jakub - together with his sister Lena and their cousin Alessandro who is visiting from Italy - gets Noah completely drunk before needling him for any and all information about Claudia.

Noah is pretty certain his ex-wife has a rather nasty curse coming her way, courtesy of the extended Stilinski family.

He really couldn't care less and pretends to not remember ever talking about her in the first place or even a single moment from that entire night.

Plausible deniability and all that.

But after the six weeks are over, they finally have to leave Poland.

There is a somewhat tearful goodbye from his little eight year old nieces - who have completely fallen in love with Stiles and his antics - and a lot of rather disturbing giggling between Stiles and his many teenage cousins. Jakub demands that they come visit again as soon as possible and warns them to expect to be swarmed by their family during the next holidays.

All in all, it is a pretty perfect vacation, but after several weeks away Noah and Stiles are also looking forward to returning to their little corner of the world.

However, it takes them only a few hours after _getting_ home to realize that their peaceful little town has suddenly turned into a death trap peppered with irrational werewolves and codeless hunters. Not to even mention the dead bodies piling up in Beacon Hills.

Scott has apparently been bitten and without warning drags a jetlagged Stiles from his bed and into the woods before his son can even realize what is actually going on.

Suddenly, Stiles is caught between three out of control werewolves. Peter Hale - out of his mind with grief and hell-bent on revenge - against Derek Hale - who is grieving for his sister and chose _now_ of all times to finally return to their town - and Scott McCall - who was recently turned and now wants his pound of flesh from the alpha responsible.

And Scott apparently decided that Stiles was to help him get it.

When Noah finally stomps into the clearing where the standoff is taking place - furious at finding his son missing at all - he finds Stiles completely bedraggled, wet from the rain and still in his pajamas staring rather dumbfounded at the three werewolves surrounding him and shouting at each other.

But Stiles’ befuddlement is clearly starting to turn into irritation at this point, because his magic is already crackling invisibly around his fingertips.

And the werewolves clearly haven't realized yet that they brought someone far more dangerous into their Mexican standoff than they could have possibly anticipated.

This situation would be almost comical if Noah weren't so decidedly _un_ amused at having to chase after his son in the first place.

He just came home from a vacation, he is jetlagged as hell, tomorrow is his first day on a new job and instead of getting some sleep he is chasing idiot werewolves through the woods because they decided to kidnap the _Sheriff's_ son from his bedroom.

Noah is _distinctly_ unimpressed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, these were actually two separate bunnies (Claudia leaving and a magical Stilinski family line) that were scuttling around my head and they ended up meshed somehow... But I quite like how it turned out :)
> 
> I enjoyed writing this from the Sheriff's perspective but if I ever continue this, the next chapter would probably be from Stiles' POV and it would most likely turn into a Stiles/Peter fic. Also, I know I messed around with backgrounds and timelines but it just fit better this way, so I'm sorry if that bothers anyone. 
> 
> Please let me know what you think :) And thanks for your comments and kudos on the previous chapters!


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